Eight Modus sites sold for £37m

EIGHT sites formerly owned by North West developer Modus have been sold by administrators for £37m.

Ernst & Young, which is handling 15 Modus companies, said the buyer of the eight sites was Yorkshire-based Scarborough Development Group, a subsidiary of Scarborough Group International (SGI), which is owned by Yorkshire entrepreneur Kevin McCabe.

It has bought Modus Properties and seven other companies that were set up to handle specific property interests around the country.

Ernst & Young was appointed to the companies last year following the collapse into administration of the group company Modus Ventures. The banking group Investec committed £37m to seven of the companies that have been sold.

Joint administrator Tom Jack said: “This is a significant deal to have completed, particularly given the current challenges in the property market for developers and investors.

“The sale will ensure commercial, retail and leisure schemes will now be completed in a number of key locations, including the North West and Wales.”

Salford-based Modus, led by Brendan Flood, rapidly acquired a large portfolio of development sites but the group began to unravel when one of its lenders, HBOS, called in a loan to Modus Ventures. The group was unable to pay so the bank appointed administrators.

The eight companies are:

• Modus Properties – a 16-acre site Rhyl with conditional planning for a mixed-use scheme.
• Modus Properties (Stockport) – an 11-acre industrial site next to the M60.
• Modus Deepdale – three acres in Preston let to a car repair business.
• Modus Congleton – seven retail units in Congleton. Planning application was submitted for a retail and hotel scheme.
• Modus Eastern (Boston) – two acres site in Boston, Lincolnshire which houses a 25,000 sq ft 1970s retail unit and a car park.
• Modus (Tower Grand) – a 250-year lease on a 0.7 acre triangle of land which contains the remains of a demolished building next to the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Wigan.
• Modus Cambrian – four acres in Newport, south Wales. It has shopping centre – Cambrian Retail Centre – comprising of 58,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space with, car park and high street shops and warehouses.  
• Modus Gregory – a development site in Glossop.

Modus Paignton, which owns a site in Devon, is still in administration, while six other companies have been dissolved. KPMG is handling the administrations of six other Modus companies that were set up to handle shoppng centre sites.